


The Pure Hearted Heroine

by Hannah_Hatter



Category: Ni no Kuni
Genre: Gen, Next-Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-20 23:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11345706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannah_Hatter/pseuds/Hannah_Hatter
Summary: Its been years since Oliver left Ni No Kuni, and a lot of things have changed. Including, the fact that he now has a fourteen year old daughter named Nicky, who has grown up hearing the stories of his adventures in the other world, and has been teased about them for years.Now, it's her turn to go into the magic world to save her father, and this little girl is determined to show that she is not ready to grow up





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so I don't know if my readers will see this, but if you can, I thought to let you know that I wrote this on Fanfiction.net as well, and its a part of a series, so its pretty different than it is here. Thought to let you know!

"So. This is the one who shall save the world." the dark man said as he watched a man with scruffy red hair and bright blue eyes hugging a girl who looked like him on a projection.

"So says the prophecy." The woman next to him said, then she turned and chuckled a little at their prisoners. "As do these... buffoons." None of the three said anything.

The dark man, known as Daimon, glared back at them as he walked over. "What makes you three feel as though this, mere mortal, is worthy of saving this world, when none of you, nor those "heroes" who have run off and hid, cannot even stand before me?"

"He is our dearest friend. I have faith in him, if nothing else!" The younger man told him fiercely, his long hair tangled, his teal jacket ripped, revealing a dark purple shirt and a pair of ripped purple pants, his black shoes only scuffed. "He has saved our world before, and shall save it again!" 

"Faith?" Daimon scoffed. "The man will need more than faith if he dares to face me!" Then he turned back to the projection, which changed into one that showed many people they cared about, turned into stone. Captain Kublai, King Tom, the Cowlipha, Master Abull,Queen Cassiopeia, even the Lord High Lord of the Fairies Drippy, all stone. But the elder sage noticed someone was gone. Someone who had been missing for some time.

"My daughter. Where is she? Where is Esther!?" Rashaad shouted at Daimon and the woman, whom was called Lelina. Lelina laughed darkly.

"Oh, don't worry your handsome little head about that! Your sweet Esther is safe. She is being put to good use." he showed them a projection, with snarling teeth that dripped with saliva, a horrid scream filling the room. Rashaad felt his heart break and he stumbled back a little, Khulan coming to his aid and helping him stand the best she could, what with her wrists tied behind her back.

"You monster!" She shouted, and Daimon roared furiously.

"Enough of this charade!" He shouted, his guards, called Senfanists, standing by as he took a deep breath and stared menacingly at the three Sages. "Now, unless you want to join them, I suggest you tell me where the others are! Where is the Prince Thief of Hamelin!? Where is the Resistance!?" 

"We wouldn't tell you even if we knew!" Marcassin told him defiantly, only wishing that he did know of his brother's wSenfanists. At least then he would feel less worried.

"They speak the truth, Daimon." Lelina told him, looking just as angry as the m!an felt. "The Prince Thief felt no need to share his hidden position with his little brother." Marcassin glared at her. "They are of no use to us." 

"Very well." Then he tapped his staff to the ground, and left the room as painful cries came from the three Sages, as his Senfanists turned each of them to stone, one by one. "Mortui!" Daimon roared angrily, slamming the door behind him. Then a man with long back hair that had streaks of gray in it and a black cloak with a medallion that hung around his neck appeared, carrying a knobbly cane.

"Yes, Master Daimon?" He asked in a withered voice, looking to Daimon with dark eyes that had seen thousands of worlds. Daimon pulled the projection of Oliver and the young girl back up, and grinned evilly.

"I want you to bring me this Pure Hearted One. We shan't have him causing any trouble for the Senfanists."

"And the girl?" Mortui asked. Daimon chuckled gruffly.

"Use her, of course. Use the love that the Pure Hearted One feels for her against him. And then, how about you rip it away from him? Just for fun." Mortui cackled evilly.

"Yes, Master Daimon." He said darkly, the shadows of the familiars of the Mortui genus rising behind him. Daimon laughed darkly as he watched the young girl hug Oliver back on the projection, her eyes shining like a child listening to a fairy tale.

"There comes a time when every little girl has to grow up. This one will have no one to stop her with the Pure Hearted One gone."


	2. Chapter 2

_Oliver walked in the door to see his four year old daughter Nicole laying on the floor, colouring a picture, dressed in a purple halter top that had pink sleeves and a pair of pink pyjama pants. He snuck up behind her and tickled her, making her squeal with laughter._

_"Daddy! Stop it!" She shouted. He laughed as he bent down and picked her up in a hug. "I'm glad you're home Daddy! I hope I never grow up, so that I don't have to go to work!" Then she showed him her picture that she was drawing. "_ _Lookit_ _Daddy! I'm drawing a picture of when you and your friends when you defeated_ _Shadar_ _!" She pointed to each person in the picture, who were all drawn pretty well for a four year old. "See? That's you, and there's Esther with her harp, and Swaine with his gun! And there's meanie old_ _Shadar_ _!" Oliver looked at her drawing and smiled, remembering that day._

_"That's amazing, sweetie!" He told her. Then he noticed someone was missing. "You forgot Mr. Drippy!" She looked at her picture, and gasped._

_"I can fix it!" He laughed again and kissed her cheek, taking the picture and setting it on the end table._

_"Come on,_ _littlie_ _!" He teased, using the name that baby fairies were called. "Let's go see what Mommy's making for dinner!" Then he threw her onto his shoulders and carried her to the kitchen piggyback style, where Myrtle was setting the table. When she saw the two, she smiled._

_"There's my hero!" She said teasingly to Oliver. "And my_ _littlie_ _!" She reached over and gave Oliver a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then tousled Nicole's hair. "Guess who gets to join us for dinner tonight?" Nicole got excited as Oliver lifted her down into a chair._

_"Who?" That was when her grandparents entered the kitchen._

_"Grandma! Grandpa!" Nicole exclaimed, running at them and jumping into Rusty Curtright's arms._

_"Oh! You're getting big!" He exclaimed, lifting her up and setting her on his hip, while Betty smiled at Myrtle as she prepared plates._

_"Its always nice to come over for dinner."_

_As they sat around the table, Nicole tapped her father's hand, grinning brightly._

_"Daddy? Can you tell Grandma and Grandpa that story you told me last night? About Tengri the dragon, and he and your friend Denny were connected!" Oliver laughed, happy to oblige. It was the only way he knew how to keep the past alive..._

_Later that same evening, Nicole ran around her room, wearing white pyjamas and a red cape, holding a stick._

__"Take that,_ _ __Shadar_ _ __!" She shouted, jumping into the air. "_ _ __Mornstar_ _ __!" Oliver laughed as he came into the room._ _

__"Come on,_ _ __littlie_ _ __!" He told her as he caught her mid air and set her on the bed, Myrtle coming in and sitting in her rocking chair. "What story do you want to hear tonight?" Nicole looked around the room at the pictures on the walls, then she came to a decision._ _

__"Tell me the one where you met the big ice doggy_ _ __!" Oliver's eyes twinkled. They always did that when he was about to tell a story. That was how Nicole knew it was going to be a good one. Then he tapped his chin._ _

__"Hmm, I might need help telling that one." From behind his back, he pulled out her_ _ __Mr.Drippy_ _ __doll, that had been sent to him by Harmony, though Drippy claimed it was his idea. "Mr. Drippy, would you like to help me tell the story of how we met the big ice doggy?" Then he pitched his voice so it sounded Welsh. "Well sure thing,_ _ __Ollie-boy_ _ __! Though that wasn't our most fun evening,_ _ __ __en't_ _ __it though?" Nicole laughed and reached out and grabbed for the doll, then gave it a huge hug._ _

_"Now please tell the story!" She exclaimed eagerly. Oliver laughed and nodded._

_"Alright, well, we were searching for the stones for Mornstar..."_

"Goodbye, Phil! I'll see you tomorrow!" Oliver called as he entered his house, then shut the door behind him, looking around his living room. Nicole wasn't there as usual. She was hardly in the living room when he came home.

"Nicole! I'm home!" he called up the stairs.

"I'll be down in a minute!" She called back. He sighed, then went into the kitchen where Myrtle was making dinner. He snuck up behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She jumped a little, then she saw him.

"Oliver!" She scolded playfully. "Don't scare me like that!" He laughed and looked out the back door window. "Nobody's coming for dinner tonight, Oliver. Dad still hasn't woken up. Mom is getting very worried. It's been over a month." Oliver sighed, leaning back against the counter.

"I hope that he can get better soon." Myrtle shrugged helplessly.

 

"I don't know. I really don't know." 

 

Oliver sighed and sat at his spot at the table. It'd been a little while since they'd all sat around the table together. It'd been even longer since he'd told one of his stories of Ni No Kuni.

 Then saw his fourteen year old daughter come in the kitchen, and sighed again. Maybe seeing his wife was the same, but his daughter sure wasn't. She definitely wasn't the little girl who would dress up in clothes to suit the other world, sit in front of the fireplace and colour while she waited for Daddy to get home, or to beg for bedtime stories and hug her Mr. Drippy plush.

She was this big, teenage girl who had covered her long, reddish-brown hair with a black beanie. She wore a black shirt with white sleeves that had black stripes on them and skinny jeans with combat boots. She always had an earbud in and her fingers were permanently stained with paint. She always had some sort of painting project in her room. That was the only good thing about his stories these days. Nicole, or Nicky as she went by now, was always painting things from his stories. 

When they sat down for dinner, Myrtle indicated for Nicky to take out her earbud, which she did grudgingly. The table was uncomfortably silent, so Myrtle decided to break it.

"So, Nicky. How was school today?" 

"Shitty." She said. Both Oliver and Myrtle gasped at her.

"Nicky! We do not use that kind of language in this house!" But Oliver, living up to his name as the Pure Hearted One, had a compassionate hand and was curious on the reason.

"What's wrong at school? Your friends are all there and your teachers like having you in class." Nicky sighed and tossed her hair.

"Homework sucks, the food taste like crap, and with Kaden in class, what friends do I have?" Oliver and Myrtle exchanged looks. Kaden was Denny's son, and they expected them to be good friends. 

"What does Kaden do, sweetie?" Nicky shrugged.

"He calls me a freak because of Dad's stories, and he's got the whole school treating me like crap." Oliver sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Even the teachers give me looks like I'm retarded! Just the other day, my history teacher told me, "Nice job on your last exam! I didn't expect you to do so well, but you always know how to surprise me!" Even he thinks I'm stupid!" Oliver sighed again.

"Nicole, I know it's tough, but it will get better. You know, when I was younger, I was teased about Ni No Kuni too. People used to think I was crazy when I was walking through Motorville, talking to my friends from Ni No Kuni, but that was because nobody could see them..." Nicky groaned and laid her head on the table, covering her face with her hands.

"Mooooom... He's doing it again." Oliver was a little confused.

"What do you mean?" Nicky sat up and gave him a look.

"Using your stories as an excuse to say your life sucked as a kid." Oliver shook his head. "And I've told you a thousand times, I prefer to just be called Nicky!"

"Nicole, don't you remember the stories? You used to love them when you were a kid!" She nodded.

'Yeah, when I was a _kid_! Keyword there, Dad! I'm fourteem now! Tell me a real story! Like..." She looked around for a minute, then looked at her mother. "Tell me about how you met Mom!" Oliver smiled with that familiar twinkle in his eye, signifying that this story was going to be a good one.

"Well, before I met your mother, she was called Starey Mary. That was because, Grandpa Rusty had his heartbroken, and it was an effecting the whole-" Nicky slammed her hands down.

"Oh my god! Stop! I don't want to hear another word!" Oliver jumped back, startled. She had never interrupted one of his stories before. "I don't want to hear another word about the Great Sages, or Al Mamoon, or Esther, or any other of your stupid imaginary friends that you made up when Grandma Alicia died because you couldn't handle it!" 

"Nicole..." Myrtle said in a warning tone, but Nicky was done. She banged her hands on the table again and stood to her feet, her chair falling back behind her.

"No, Mom! I'm done! If Dad wants to believe that his stupid stories are real, he can! But I am fourteen! I understand! Grandma Alicia died of a heart attack, so he made up a bunch of friends! Doesn't mean he has to force that belief onto me! Because that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of!" She glared at Oliver, then spoke in a low voice. "There comes a time when every little girl has to grow up. It's my turn." Then she stomped upstairs.

"Nicole, wait..." Oliver called.

"ITS NICKY!" She shouted, then a door slammed. 

"Give her some time, dear." Myrtle told Oliver. "She's just at that age." 

Upstairs, Nicky flopped onto her bed, careful of the low ceiling over it. She was so sick of hearing of those stories. She looked up and saw her Mr. Drippy doll, sitting on a shelf, next a box labeled Ni No Kuni drawings. She stomped over and knocked the shelf down, sending the drawings inside flying and Mr. Drippy out the open window. She glared sulkily at the window, then scoffed.

"I don't care anymore!" She shouted, as if the doll was going to protest. Then she saw her painting easel. Painting was one of her passions, and one of her favourite things to do was to paint what she thought things from Ni No Kuni looked like. This was one was of the Fairygrounds. It was beautiful, like a pure version of Tombstone Trail. She went over and gave it a huge kick, knocking the easel down and putting a hole through the canvas. Then she sat back on the bed and sobbed. "Why can't he just be normal? I just wish he would stop telling those damned stories."

"Perhaps I can help." A slinky voice said. She looked around, but saw no one.

"What the hell?" She muttered.

"You want your father's silly silly stories to stop, don't you?" Nicky nodded, still looking.

"Yeah, of course I do. But where are you?" 

"I'm here, my dear. I'm here to help you." Then a shadow on the wall she had thought was her curtain melted off the wall, down onto the floor, and creepy man appeared from it. Nicky stumbled and fell back. 

"Nicole? Are you alright?" Myrtle called from downstairs.

"Y-yeah, Mom. Just tripped." She called back. Then she said, "who're you?" He waved away the question.

"Names. Only labels. Unlike what I can do for you." She furrowed her eyebrows. "I can grant that wish. Make your father stop telling his silly silly stories." Her eyes widened.

"Really? How?" She imagined how normal he would be without his stories. How less of a loser she would be!

"Nicole? Can I come in?" She heard her dad's voice outside the door, but she ignored it as the dark man held out his hand to her.   
"Just shake my hand, and your wish is granted." She quickly took it and shook it, and a blinding green light exploded from their joined hands, the man laughing darkly. She tried to pull away as a chain wrapped itself around her wrist. 

"Let me go!" She shouted, desperate. "Dad! Help!"

 

** PHH **

 

Downstairs, Oliver was sitting in a chair in the living room, the TV tuned to the news, but he was hardly paying attention. He was thinking of how to reform for Nicole. He could hear her yelling, the crashing sound of her easel, then silence. He decided that she had calmed down, and maybe he could talk to her without mentioning Ni No Kuni. He went upstairs and knocked softly on the door.

"Nicole? Can I come in?" He asked. No answer, but there was a much deeper voice, then a bright green light exploded underneath of the door. "Nicole! Nicole, what's happening in there?" He called, worried.

"Dad! Help!" She screamed. That was enough for him! He ran to his room and grabbed Astra from his bedside drawer, then ran into Nicky's room, where a dark man had her hand and a chain was wrapping itself around her wrist. She looked to him, tears in her eyes. "Daddy! Please! Help me!" She begged. He created the Mornstar symbol and blasted it at the man.

"Mornstar!" He shouted, and the man went flying against the wall. Then he ran over to Nicky and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close like she was a baby. "It's alright, sweetie. I've got you." The dark man stood to his feet, and to their surprise, smiled when he saw Oliver.

"So, you're the Pure Hearted One. How nice to meet you." Oliver pointed Astra at him. "Oh please, there's no need for that." Then the dark man cast Fell Wind, sending Nicky flying away from him, then chains shot out from the dark man's hands, wrapping themselves around Oliver!

"Dad!" Nicky cried, picking up the dropped wand and pointing it at the dark man, who cackled.

"Please! Child, you hardly know how to use such a formidable wand!" Then he disappeared, taking Oliver with him.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Myrtle came running in, to find Nicky had fallen to her knees, the room a mess, Oliver nowhere to be seen. She ran over and knelt beside her daughter, fear filling her heart.

"Nicky? Nicky, what happened?" Nicky just stared at a black spot on the carpet, like a shadow, but not a shadow. "Nicky! What happened?"

"He took him." She said slowly. Myrtle was confused.

"Who took who, sweetie?" Nicky looked at her, the colour gone from her face.

"Dad. He took Dad! Some evil, dark looking man, he took Dad!" Myrtle gasped.

"Oh my! Where'd he go? Out the window?" She asked. Nicky shook her head.

"No! He just vanished! Into thin air!" She looked back at the spot. "Like... magic." Myrtle gasped, then sighed.

"I knew this day would come. Your father warned me this day was coming, but I didn't believe him." Then she stood and ran to her and Oliver's bedroom. Nicky followed her, picking up Astra from the floor.

"Mom? Mom, what day?" Myrtle didn't answer her, She ran over to Oliver's bedside table and reached in, pulling out a brown book with a blue jewel in the centre and a small brown bag. Nicky recognised the book at once.

"The Wizard's Companion." She said softly. Then she looked at the bag. "And this must be the Bottomless Bag." Myrtle nodded.

"Your father said he was going to take you to Ni No Kuni to learn magic some day, and to meet his friends, but as you can see, that day might not come." Nicky's eyes widened, then she looked determined.

"Mom, I've got a plan. I'm going to Ni No Kuni, I'm going to find Dad, and then I'm bringing him home!" Myrtle's eyes widened.

"Go to Ni No Kuni? By yourself? Nicky, that's incredibly dangerous!"

"Dad did it." She said. "Dad went into that world and came back completely unscathed." Myrtle looked crestfallen.

"Nicky, your father was never alone in that world. He had Mr. Drippy the whole way. You don't have any one with you." Nicky shook her head.

"I don't care! This is my fault! I'm going to get Dad!" Myrtle sighed, then nodded.

"Alright. Just, be careful. From what I've heard, Ni No Kuni is a wonderful place, but it's also very dangerous to be in." Nicky nodded, then took the bag and the book from her mother.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll be okay. If Dad could do it when he was ten, I can do it at fourteem." Then she flipped to the Gateway spell in the Wizard's Companion, created the symbol, and cast the spell. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the middle of a field. The grass looked dead though, and the sky looked like fire. That was when she heard thumping, and huge creatures came running at her! She screamed and ducked her head as the Ulk ran over her. When they were gone, she stood, and looked around.

"Well, that's one way to start an adventure." She muttered to herself. Then she heard a dark laughter, and turned to see that man! She pointed Astra at him.

"You! You took my dad!" The man grinned.

"Yes, I did. I stopped his story telling. So why are you here?"

"I want him back! I want to call the deal off!"

"Tsk tsk tsk. Can't do that dearie. Not while, that's on." he pointed to the chain around Nicky's wrist. She looked at it, still trying to get it off.

"What the hell is this? Why won't it come off?" She asked. He cackled.

"You see, that chain, is our deal. With that chain, I get to keep your father with me. Turn him against you." He leaned in close. "Steal his power." Nicky gasped.

"No! I don't want this! I hated that my dad embarrassed me, but I don't want him gone!"

"Enough!" The man shouted. "The chain breaks, the deal's off! Until then, why don't you go home? Enjoy your life without him." That was when her hand felt empty, and she looked to see Astra gone!

"Where's my father's wand?" She demanded, backing up, feeling not as tough without it. Mortui cackled.

"Gone! You don't get an upperhand so soon in the game!" Then he vanished, cackling. "Oh, and watch out for the Flyers!"

"Wait! What are the Flyers?" All of a sudden, things, probably bombs, fell out of the sky and exploded around her! She screamed and dodged them, not sure where to go as fire grew around her. All of a sudden, she felt a hand go into her's and she looked up and saw a boy with black hair.

"Run!" then he dragged her towards the forest, dodging the fire.

"Wait! We can't go to the forest! The trees will burn!" She shouted. The boy turned around as he ran.

"The Flyers only hit what they can see! If they can't see you, they'll assume you're dead! Now C'MON!" Then he dragged her into the forest just as one more bomb almost hit them. They watched as the Flyers flew away, panting hard.

"Thank you." Nicky said to the boy. "If you hadn't been there, I might not have been able to get out of there." The boy shrugged.

"Don't sweat it." Then the boy smacked her upside the head!

"Ow!" She shouted, looking at him in shock. "What was that for?"

"Are you as stupid as the Flyers!?" He shouted at her. "Anybody out in the open gets caught by Daimon or Mortui and gets thrown in prison!" Then he sighed. "Are you with the Resistance?" She tilted her head.

"What's the Resistance?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Ha ha, very funny. Everyone knows about the Resistance." She got into his face.

"Well, I don't, obviously." He smirked.

"Really? So then, what were you doing out in the middle of the Rolling Hills? Everyone knows about the Flyers and stays out of the Hills to avoid them." she shrugged.

"I'm not exactly from around here." He raised his eyebrows.

"Not from here? The Flyers are everywhere! The Rolling Hills, the Shimmering Sands, the Iron Pig Plains, everywhere! Where could you be from that doesn't have Flyers or where you couldn't here about the Resistance?"

"Another world?" She said. He raised his eyebrows even higher. "It's true! I'm here to save my dad!" He crossed his arms.

"There's nobody here that could be from another world that could be your dad! The last guy who was here was-"

"The Pure Hearted One, Oliver?" She inquired. The boy gasped.

"The Savour is here!?" She nodded. "Praise the Ancients!" Then he saw her face. "Wait, you said your from another world, the Savour is here, and you're here to save your dad. So that means..." She nodded.

"The Savour is my dad, and he can't save the world. Not yet. I have to save him first." The boy raised an eyebrow again.

"You're the Pure Hearted One's kid? And you're here to save him? Nice try." She put her hands on her hips, having about enough of this boy.

"It's the truth! Otherwise, I wouldn't be here!" The boy looked her up and down.

"Well, you're definitely dressed funny. And you look like how my dad described the Pure Hearted One." She looked at her clothes, then groaned.

"You know what? I don't have time for this! I've got to get my hands on another wand, then go and save my dad!" Then she turned to stomp off, but the boy had one last thing to say.

"Hey! Do you even know where you're going?" She stopped, and realised she didn't. She groaned again and he laughed. "Come on. I'll take you to Old Father Oak. He might be able to help you out." She sighed and turned back to follow him.

"Fine. But then I'm gone." He chuckled.

"Alright then." Then he held out his hand. "I'm Jayden, by the way." She shook his hand.

"Nicky." They walked in silence for a while, then Nicky decided to break it. "So, you mentioned that your dad described my dad. Who's your dad?"

"Captain Kublai. King of the Sky Pirates." he told her. Her eyes widened.

"Really? Then is your mother Queen Khulan?" He nodded. "Where are they? Are they in the forest too?" He shook his head.

"The only people here in the Deep Dark Wood are the fairies from the Golden Grove and Old Father Oak. My parents were captured by Daimon and turned to stone." Nicky's eyes widened.

"Oh." She said softly. Then she asked, "So where's everybody else? Are they all turned to stone too?"

"Not everybody." he told her. "The royals all are, like King Tom, the Cowlipha, even the chief of Yule and Master Abull. They all got captured. So did Emperor Marcassin, and the Great Sage Rashaad. Lot's of people who were powerful or just plain helped your dad on his journeys. I hear they've even got the Lord High Lord of the Fairies trapped."

"Mr. Drippy?" Nicky asked. Even her best friend as a child had been captured? Jayden nodded.

"But some of them haven't been captured." he told her. "Everyone in Ding Dong Dell's been gone since King Tom got captured and the rats took over and Al Mamoon is destroyed, so nobody's there either. Hamelin's back in the state it was with the White Witch, but Prince Swaine's not been captured. From what I've picked up hanging around the Senfanists, I hear he's with the Resistance."

"So, where's Esther?" Nicky asked.

"I heard she got eaten by a serpent." Jayden told her, and she gasped.

"Oh." Then they were silent again as they walked, until there was a roar. "Jayden? What was that?" She asked, him pulling out a sword.

"Just be quick. We need to get to Old Father Oak."  Then he led her deeper into the forest, and she hugged her bag close, looking nervously around her. She looked through the Wizard's Companion, and found that she was in the Deep Dark Woods. This has been one of the more scary stories.

_"And he was really big, with trees growing out of his back, and yellow eyes." Oliver had said. "And his roar was something else!"  Then he would impersonate the Guardian of the Woods' roar. Nicky would squeal, making Myrtle jump in the rocking chair._

  
_" Goodness, Oliver! You scared the poor girl out of her wits!"  Myrtle told him, but both he and Nicky were laughing. She loved to be scared like that!_

"Wait! Jayden." He turned around.

"What is it?"

"What happened to the Guardian? Is he protecting these woods?" Jayden shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. If anything, we have to careful of him. Mortui cursed him to protect the woods from intruders who were against him and the Senfanist."

"The Senfanist?" She asked.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to find Old Father Oak. Because right now, he's the real guardian right now. He and the fairies." Then they heard rumbling. Nicky held out her wand towards the noise.

"Was that...?" Jayden nodded.

"C'mon." He grabbed her hand again and they ran through the woods, Nicky tripping over everything. Then they saw it. The huge beast himself appeared, roaring. 

"Run!" Jayden pulled her along as they ran through the forest. She stared at the huge monster.

"Dad really underestimated his roar!" She shouted. All of a sudden, Jayden's hand slipped from her's and she tripped, falling right onto a rock and busting her chin. She put her hand to her chin and kept running, trying not cry. With tears blurring her vision, she had even more trouble running."Jayden!" She screamed, listening to the roar of the Guardian. Then she remembered! Her wand! She pulled the Wizard's Companion out from her bag and flipped through it until she saw the Fireball spell. She ducked behind a tree, formed the spell and aimed it the Guardian. She hit it spot on, but it fought back.

  
"Nicky, look out!" She heard Jayden yell, but it was too late. The guardian hit her and she fell, unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

"C'mon! Old Father Oak is just up ahead..." Jayden turned around and saw that Nicky was gone. "What the hell?" 

 

"Jayden!" Then a roar. He liked around and noticed there was a drop of blood on his arm. "Oh crap!" He ran back and watched as she threw a fiery spell at the Guardian. The beast stumbled back, then hit her, knocking her against a tree and knocking her out. Jayden quickly shimmied up a tree and threw a rock as hard as he could, distracting the Guardian, who ran in that direction. Jayden ran as fast as he could over to Nicky, whose chin was bleeding and she was covered in dirt. He sighed, then tossed her wand into her backpack that had come off, threw it over his shoulder, then lifted her up bridal style and ran as fast as he could. When he got close to reaching Old Father Oak, a bunch of fairies ran over.

 

"Oi! It's Jaydie-boy!"

 

"How you doing, mun?"

 

"Oi, Jaydie-boy! Whose she?"

 

"Did you find youerself a girlfriend?" 

 

"It's 'bout time, Jaydie-boy! Youer a young lad!" Jayden grunted as he slipped off the backpack and tossed it to a fairy called Sappy.

 

"Sappy, take that over by Old Father Oak. She's heavy enough!" Then he turned to one called Merry. "Merry, can you let Old Father Oak we'll need one of his healing spells? She's all busted up." Merry nodded then ran off. Sappy, the smallest fairy, stayed close.

 

"Hey, Jaydie-boy! Who is she?" 

 

"I'll tell you later." He said. "Can you get the barrier?" Sappy nodded, then knocked on the air. Immediately, a gold dome appeared and the two of them walked inside of it. That was the only thing that protecting Old Father Oak and the fairies. The tree himself had created the dome, which had wore him out really bad. So healing spells were really limited.

 

"Who, goes, there?" 

 

"Oh relax, it's only me." Jayden grumbled. Old Father Oak smiled a weak smile.

 

"Welcome back Jayden. Have you found the Resistance Island yet?" Jayden shook his head.

 

"No, not yet. I know where it is, I just need to get to it." He lay Nicky up against Old Father Oak, who if he could would have jumped. He was usually so tired, his eyes were about half closed and Jayden had placed her just out the old tree's sight.

 

"Oh my! What was that?" 

 

"A friend of mine. I found her in the Rolling Hills." Old Father Oak opened his eyes as Merry took one of his healing leaves. That was his healing spell.

 

"Her? A girl?" Jayden rolled his eyes. 

 

"Don't start! She was getting attacked by the Flyers." At the touch of the cold leaf, Nicky's eyes flew open and she pushed Jayden away, but he reached up and pushed her hands down.

 

"Stop, it's okay. It's only me." He said. She panted and winced as he lay the lead back on her chin. "Leave it there. It'll stop the bleeding real quick." She looked around, holding the lead to her chin.

 

"Where are we?" She asked. He grinned.

 

"The small bit of the Resistance." He said. "Meet the fairies of the Golden Grove, now residing in the Deep Dark Wood." She looked around, and sure enough, there were a bunch of fairies around her. She giggled.

 

"Hello." She said. The fairies all stared at her. "What's the matter?" One of the fairies stepped up.

 

"Most of these guys are littlies. They en't ever seen a human before." Sappy came up.

 

"I saw a human before! They saved me inside of Mam's tummy!" Nicky stared at the small fairy.

 

_"Were the_ _littlies_ _very cute?" Nicky asked Oliver._

 

_"They looked like eggs! But they were pretty adorable. Swaine thought that they were annoying, though." Nicky's eyes widened._  
_"What did he say?"_

 

_"He said,_ _'God_ _, they're so annoying? How do we get rid of them?' Harmony punched him in the shoulder for that."_

 

"You, met Oliver?" Nicky asked. Sappy nodded.

 

"Yeah! He was really nice!" Nicky sighed. 

 

"I can't see your face, but I know that sigh." Said Old Father Oak. Nicky squeaked and jumped up. 

 

"What was that!?" She asked. Jayden laughed and led her to a spot where Old Father Oak could see her.

 

"Nicky, meet Old Father Oak." She gasped and covered her mouth. The old tree smiled.

 

"Well, I'd recognise that face anywhere." He said. "The blue eyes, the red hair, even the clothes. You looked just like Oliver." She blushed and smiled.

 

"He's my father, sir." She mumbled. The fairies all gasped around her. 

 

"You're Ollie-boy's littlie?" Asked Merry. She nodded.

 

"Yes, and I'm here to save him." If he could have, Old Father Oak would have raised an eyebrow. 

 

"Really? What happened?" She looked down.

 

"He was taken by Mortui. It was all my fault." Sappy came over and put a hand on her ankle. Jayden looked at the sun.

 

"We'd better rest here for the night. The night is more dangerous than the day." She nodded, then Jayden turned to Old Father Oak. "Do you mind if I make a campfire, Old Father Oak?" The tree frowned.

 

"I'd prefer not, but since the night is cold, I'll allow it." Jayden made a campfire and the two of them sat at it surrounded by the fairies. As the dusk turned to night and they were illuminated by the fire, Sappy came over and noticed something glinting on Nicky's wrist.

 

"What's that?" he asked. Nicky tugged her sleeve down.

 

"It's nothing." She said quickly, but Jayden wasn't convinced. He went over, grabbed her arm, and yanked her wrist down, seeing Mortui's chain. His face twisted with anger.

 

"What the hell!? This is one of Mortui's Deal Chains!" He shouted. He looked at her terrified face. "Why the hell are you wearing one of Mortui's Deal Chains!?" She stood up.

 

"I told you, it was my fault! I made a deal with Mortui! I told him I wanted a normal father and he tricked me! He said he would get my dad to stop telling the stupid stories!" Jayden glared.

 

"Are you serious!? Why would you want your dad to change!?" She looked at the ground.

 

"I just wanted the stories to stop. People always called him crazy or weird and I wanted it to stop." Jayden threw her wrist down and went back to his seat on the other side of the fire.

 

"We'd better get some rest. We have a long way to go. We'll find the Resistance, then go save your dad. If anybody can do it, it'll be the Resistance." Nicky nodded, and she laid down beside the fire, feeling her back get warm, but shivered as she closed her eyes. There certainly was a long way to go


	5. Chapter 5

Nicky woke up the next morning, looked around, and sighed.

"And I was hoping I was dreaming." She said. Then she noticed that Jayden was asleep still. So she quickly packed up all of the things from the Bottomless Bag, leaving out the Wizard's Companion. Jayden said that Mortui was in Hamelin. She'd need the map to head there.

That was when she found a stick with a green gem at the end. It was simple, but she recognised it immediately.

_"Daddy! Tell me about time you met the big cat king!" Nicky begged her father at five. He laughed._

_"Wait here one "_ _meowment_ _", my_ _littlie_ _." He told her. Then he left her room and came back with a stick that had a green gem on the end. "This is the wand that King Tom gave me. Before this, I only had a stick, from the Sky Tree of_ _Nazcaa_ _itself."_

This was King Tom's wand! "I'd better hold onto this." She whispered to herself, then packed everything else up, and left the Deep Dark Wood, not waking anybody else up. Or so she thought. As she walked into the Rolling Hills, she ran as fast as she could, trying to avoid the Flyers.

"Oi, Nicky-girl! Mind slowing down? You're shaking me up!" Called a Welsh voice from the Bottomless Bag. Nicky pulled it off and opened it up to see Sappy sitting inside!

"Sappy! What are you doing in there?" She asked, pulling him out. Sappy hopped onto the ground, grinning.

"I'm here to help you out! Since you left Jaydie-boy behind!" Nicky shook her head as she continued walking.

"I didn't leave him behind. I was trying to save his life! I'm probably going to get into a lot of trouble and danger, and I don't want anybody getting hurt because of me! And that includes you! Go back!" Sappy shook his head.

"Nah, mun! I'll bet I'll be a great help! Youer dad had Lord Drippy! It'll be just like that!" Nicky groaned. "Trust me, mun! We can do this! Besides! I know how to get Hamelin! That's where Mortui, the rotter, is at!" Nicky felt a pang in her chest. She remembered that Hamelin had once been ruled by Swaine, and his little brother Marcassin. It had been one of her favourite stories, the story of Swaine’s brother.

_"What story would you like to hear today, Nicole?" Oliver asked._  
_"I want to hear the story about how you found out that Marcassin was Swaine's brother!" She told him excitedly._

That had been one of her favourite stories. It made her wish she had a sibling who cared for her the way Swaine and Marcassin cared for each other. And it saddened her to think that the two of them were now apart, Marcassin having been captured, not knowing the fate of his own brother...

"I will find Swaine." She whispered. "I will makje sure he gets back to Marcassin alive!"

"What'd you say, Nicky-girl?" Sappy asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking of a story my dad told me." Sappy jumped up and sat on her shoulder.

"I _love_ stories! Lord Drippy always told stories about his adventures with Ollie-boy!" Nicky grinned, feeling a little better.

"Which one is your favourite?" She asked him. "Mine was called the Prince's Brother." Sappy jumped up.

"He was going to tell me that one! It was a few days before he went to find Thief-face and Esther! And my favourite was always the latest in the batch!" As they talked, they used the bottomless bag to hide themselves, hoping that it made the Flyers think that there was no one there. That was when they heard shouting.

"Get your smelly, stinking paws off of me, you stupid rats!" called a woman's voice. "Go back to the Ding Dong Hell of a Well where you belong!" Nicky and Sappy dashed behind what appeared to be a massive rib cage and watched as two giant rats walked by, holding a woman's arms. The woman had long black hair, a brown fur coat, and baggy, white pants, with what appeared to be hiking boots.

"No way, Pipsqueak!" They told her. She wasn't that small. "King Hickory Dock will appreciate the guilders we'll get for your bounty!" The woman struggled some more.

"I"m a bounty hunt _er_! Not a bounty _hunt_! Now let me go!" But the rats just laughed high pitch squeaky laughs as they entered a gate. 

"Sappy, who was that woman?" Nicky whispered. Sappy merely shrugged.

"I don't know, Nicky-girl, I don't know! But, whoever she is, sounds like she's in heaping mounds of trouble, she is!" 

"What makes you say that?" Sappy gave Nicky a look.

"Are you deaf, mun? That there's the Rat King's Kingdom! If he thinks he can bargain with someone for a few guilders, she must be some sort of important or other! Or else he's just got cheese for a brain and thinks giving her to Daimon is going to save his life. Either way, the pooer dab won't be lasting long. Especially with that attitude she's got!" Nicky jumped up at that.

"Then we have to help her!" Sappy jumped up as well.

"Go into the Rat King's Kingdom? That's run by loads of giant rats? That's crazy dangerous, mun!" She gave the fairy a look.

"Sappy, I'm supposed to save my dad, and possibly the world. I've got to start somewhere. And saving that girl from King Hickory Dock is a good start!" Then she ran towards the gate, just as the two mice came back out and glared at her and Sappy.

"Uh, hey..." She said slowly, backing up. "So uh, I really need to get in there to see your king, if that's okay..." the mice pointed their spears at her and Sappy."Ah!" She yelped.

"Crikey!" Sappy exclaimed.

"Any humans caught inside of the Rat King's Kingdom must answer to King Hickory Dock and spend as many years as he pleases in his dungeon!" Both the fairy and the girl squeaked as the spears got closer. "Now leave!"

"Halt!" They heard another squeaky, smaller, voice say. They looked and saw a small mouse with brown hair and red glasses. "These squeaklings snuck into the Rat King's Kingdom! I caught them sneaking over the wall! I'm here to take them to King Hickory Dock!" The two mouseketeers bowed.

"Our apologies, Pip. Take them to justice." The small mouse, Pip, pushed at Sappy and kicked Nicky's ankles.

"Move it, squeaklings!" He shouted. Nicky and Sappy looked at each other, but followed Pip's orders and walked into what was once Ding Dong Dell, now more like a Ding Dong Dump. There was chewed, pretty much everything all over, dirty, ugly mice laying around with half eaten food. Nicky wretched, then looked nervously at Pip.

"Where are you taking us?" She asked him. Sappy jumped up.

"You rotten, dirty rat had better let us go! Or else I'll-!" Pip slapped a hand over Sappy's mouth, then pointed down a staircase.

"Follow me." he whispered, then he went down the staircase. Nicky and Sappy exchanged looks again, then followed him. He led them down into a cell door and into a dark tunnel. Nicky looked around nervously, picking her way through the muck.

"Where are we?" She asked Pip. 

"Ding Dong Well." He told them softly, leading them down another corridor, where Nicky saw a light. "The current home of the people of Ding Dong Dell." When they came up to the light, Nicky gasped. The light was coming from a campfire! And the camp was filled with people and grimalkins! Men, women, children, tiny babies, little kittens, and the elderly, all gathered around a big campfire, tents made of sheets and blankets, big baskets stacked up in a corner. Nicky gasped.

"Oh my god." She whispered. "What's happened to them?" 

"King Hickory." Pip told them. "When Daimon came and catnapped King Tom, the people began to panic. All the rats came running and threw them out. It was terrible! A bunch of them got taken by the Flyers! Finally, I led them all down here so there would be some citizens left at all!" That was when a man with a huge blood stained bandage around his arm came over to Pip.

"Pip, have you got any more food?" He asked, sounding tired. Pip nodded, then gave a sharp whistle. Almost immediately, a Minor Byrde came flying down with a sack in his hand. Nicky jumped.

"Crikey! Those flipping things are down here too!" Sappy shouted. Pip laughed a little.

"Don't worry! This is Mim, my familiar. I was out in the Rolling Hills looking for parts for my new Cloudsweeper, and he followed me home! Haven't gotten rid of him since!" The byrde, Mim, flew down to Pip and handed him the sack. Pip opened it up and gave some bread to the man. Then he gasped and pulled out a bottle of milk.

"Wow! We haven't had milk in forever! Ever since the Cowlipha and Master Abull disappeared and Al Mamoon was taken down, there's been a serious lack of milk and babanas. It really stinks!" Then he pulled out a green bottle, and scurried over to a woman, who had a little girl whose face was the same colour as the stone, and the water was filled with vomit. Nicky felt a little sick herself.

"What's in that bottle, Sappy?" She asked. 

"That's tonic, Nicky-girl! It's medicine." Nicky then felt someone tug at her jacket, and looked to see a thin little boy looking at her curiously. 

"Excuse me, miss." He said. "Are you a witch?" He pointed at the wand in her hand. Nicky looked at it, thought of her, dad, and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm a witch." Everyone gasped, looking at her in astonishment. "What?" She asked.

"Nobody's seen a witch or a wizard for a long time. We thought they all got captured by Daimon." A woman told her. 

"Except for Ana." Piped up one little boy, who's mother covered his mouth.

"Hush, little one!" She hissed, but Nicky was curious.

"Ana?" She asked.

"Anahita." Replied an older woman. "She's a drifter, a bounty hunter of sorts. Lovely young thing. Comes down to the town to tell stories to the children."

"She knew magic." A man with dark hair added, looking at the ground. "She wasn't Great Sage level, mind you, but she knew what she was doing with a wand."

"And she was captured a mere meowment ago." A grimalkin retorted. "It'll be soon that she will be captured like the Sages, and there will be no hope left." Nicky stomped her foot. She hated sitting and listening to people feeling sorry for themselves. 

"Well that's why we have to save her!" The whole town looked at her in surprise. "Daimon captured them all so that we would all go and hide, and that makes him think he has won! Well, we can't always depend on the magic that people like the Sages, or Anahita, or even my father, the Pure Hearted One, has! We have to stand up to him! And we can start, with getting the Songstress back from King Hickory Dock!"

"But how? We don't have any magic." Asked a woman. Nicky looked around, then ran over to the baskets in the corner and dug through them, pulling out cooking knives.

"We have all the weapons we need right here! After all, my father once told me that a boy called Tommy Stout protected this city from mice with a broom and a cooking pot on his head!" The man with dark hair let out a small chuckle.

"I remember that!" He told her. "And I remember Oliver taking my enthusiasm to help King Tom!" Nicky gasped.

"You're Tommy Stout?" She asked incredulously. He nodded, stood up, walked over to her, and held out his hand to her.

"Thomas Stout, at your service." She grinned and shook his hand. "And I believe you are right." He looked to the people of Ding Dong Dell. "We've had mice problems for years. What makes this one any different? My mother once told me that the best weapon is the one that you can grab quick! So everyone! Get to grabbing!" The whole town cheered and began to dig for knives and brooms and anything else that could be a potential weapon for them. Nicky also dug through her Bottomless Bag and found loads of familiar weapons and armor, and gave those away, not having a familiar to give them to. When Tommy came over to get something, he smiled at her.

"Thank you, daughter of Oliver. For helping myself and these people believe again. I guess we just needed a push, huh?" She nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess so, huh? By the way, my name is Nicky." Then she went to hand him a sword, but he rejected it.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather have a spear. My Drone Bumbler uses them." Nicky gasped as she dug for a spear.

"You have a familiar?" She asked him. He nodded, and pulled out a little Drone Bumbler.

"This is Bee." He told her. "And she's pretty strong. Your father actually conjured her up for me, after I gave him that Thumbelemur and he defeated my Shellraiser in the Solosseum Series. He also told me to stop finding familiars in the woods." Nicky laughed as she handed him a Bee Sting Spear.

"Here. This one looks like it would suit her." Tommy examined the spear, looking at it approvingly.

"Very nice. With a three percent chance of poisoning the opponent. Thank you again, Nicky." She smiled and watched as the man and the Drone Bumbler walked away with the spear.

Soon, everyone felt ready and Nicky gave them a plan.

"Okay, so there are a lot of rats up there, and of course they're all lead by King Hickory Dock. If we can get rid of him, I'll bet my hat that we can scare them all back down here. So we'll have to come up in minimal numbers because I hear that if you're a human, you'll be tossed to the Flyers. We don't want that, so we'll have to be careful."

"I know a way to get into the palace through a trapdoor on the roof!" Pip told her. "King Hickory used it to catnap King Tom before!"

"Perfect!" Then she looked back at the town. "Okay, so what's going to happen. We'll split up into teams. Two teams are going to go down to the palace from the surface. We need someone to guard the palace door so no other mice can get in and help King Hickory Dock. Another team will distract the rats so that those two teams can get to the palace with minimal distractions. Tommy, I want you to lead the surface teams." Tommy nodded.  
"I will do my best." Nicky nodded.

"Another team or two will follow me into the palace. There's bound to be a bunch of rats in there and we'll need to find Anahita." She turned to Pip. "Pip, you know where King Hickory Dock would keep his prisoners, right?" The mouse nodded.

"He has a dungeon! I can show you where it is!" She looked back to the people and grimalkins.

"Okay. I need a team to go with Pip. He will lead you." Then she looked to Sappy. "Sappy, I want you to lead a team in clearing out the castle of any other mice that might be there. I'm going after King Hickory Dock." The town gasped.

"By yourself? That's incredibly dangerous!" She nodded.

"I know. But from what my father told me, King Hickory Dock is tough, and I don't want anybody to get too hurt. I'll have a team standing by just in case, but other than that, just focus on the other mice." The townsfolk nodded, and she pumped her fist in the air. "Now let's go get Ding Dong Dell back!" They all cheered, and Tommy made three teams, then led them to the surface. Sappy, Pip, and Nicky made their teams, then they followed Pip down the corridors to a place that was surrounded by walls, but the sun shone down on it.

"This is where King Hickory fought the Pure Hearted One." Pip told them. Then they began to climb the walls, that led right to the walls of the palace. When they reached the roof, Pip crawled across the roof, knocking on it. "Ah ha!" He pulled on a panel, to reveal a door.

"Right you lot! Down we go!" Sappy called, jumping through. His team followed him, then Pip lead his team down. Nicky and her small team followed them, and they walked through the halls of the palace, that looked as if they had been grand once, now reduced to trash and chewed carpets. 

"Halt!" shouted a squeaky voice. Nicky and her team turned to see two Mouseketeers, pointing spears at them. "Where do you squeaklings think you're going?" Instead of answering, the townsfolk gathered in front of Nicky, battle ready. "So that's how you want to play? Very well!" Then they began to fight!

"Nicky, go! Go find King Hickory! We'll get rid of them!" Shouted a woman as she beat a Mouseketeer with her broom. Nicky hesitated, then ran down the hall, where she entered the throne room. And sitting in a huge chair surrounded by shavings and cheese rinds, was King Hickory Dock. He looked up and glared at her.

"How did you get into my palace!?" He demanded. She held the wand out at him.

"That doesn't matter. Just hear me out." Hickory Dock sat up and looked thoughtful.

"I'm listening." She sighed, relieved.

"Okay, good. Now, I don't want to fight you, but you need to leave Ding Dong Dell! Give their city back to the people and grimalkins!" King Hickory laughed loudly.

"Never! All the cheese I want! Everything to chew on! An actual bed rather than a rock! I'm never leaving!" Then he jumped up and landed with a thump in front of her. "And if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Then he came at her.  

 


End file.
